I live in St. Augustine, FL. Though one wouldn't include it in the
Deep South, I have friends here who use terms I can't recall hearing
in the North. I'm not talking about "y'all" and "bless your heart!"
I'm referring to words that are used in lieu of more common variants.
Two come to mind:

"I just bought a new vehicle [instead of "car"]," and

"I'm going on vacation, so will soon need to put my animals [instead
of "pets"] in the kennels."

Are those substitutions indeed unique to Southern speakers?

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Clarification of Question by nautico-ga on 24 Dec 2005 13:41 PST

Pink, I remember once hearing a regional linguistics expert being
interviewed on NPR. He could not only tell what state and what region
of that state a particular dialect was peculiar to, but also what
expressions and words were routinely used there as substitutes for
more mainstream variants. I'd like to find him on the web, but for
$2.00 it's hardly worth your breaking a sweat.

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Clarification of Question by nautico-ga on 24 Dec 2005 14:07 PST

I also wonder whether Shakespeare and his buddies actually said
"hark!" when trying to gain another's attention. (I know. I need to
get out more.)

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Clarification of Question by nautico-ga on 25 Dec 2005 10:33 PST

Pink, please post those comments as your answer. A quick copy & paste
job would be just fine. No need to embellish. I thoroughly enjoyed the
link on regional American dialects and word usage. Merry Christmas!

Thanks for accepting my findings as your answer! I've reposted the links below.

The linguist William Labov has been on NPR several times. He's an
expert on regional dialects in the United States.

THE ACADEMY: TALKING THE TAWK
http://www.let.rug.nl/nerbonne/teach/dialectology/labov-new-yorker.html

Here you'll find links to several interesting sites related to
dialects of the English language:

Northern Virginia Community College: Language Communities
http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/spd110td/interper/message/linksspcomlanguage.html

I already knew about William Labov; I found the "Language Communities"
page by using this Google search string:

Google Web Search: "william labov" "word choice"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22william+labov%22+%22word+choice%22

Regarding the use of "hark" in the sense of "hey, listen up," it's
entirely likely that Shakespeare (and his buddies) used the word in
this way, although they may have spelled it differently. My trusty OED
cites a usage in print of "hark" in the imperative, way back in the
year 1300: "Herc, and I sal tel yow" (Hark, and I shall tell you).
Shakespeare uses "hark" in his plays, and I think there is a very good
chance that he used the word in his colloquial speech. Although "hark"
sounds stilted today, it may have been the "yo, bro" hipster utterance
of Elizabethan times.

Best,
Pink

And we musn't forget "HARK, The Herald Angels Sing"!

I am not familiar enough with the rest of the country to give an
authoritative answer, but both these usages are common in northeastern
Oklahoma, where I live.

The linguist William Labov has been on NPR several times. He's an
expert on regional dialects in the United States.

http://www.let.rug.nl/nerbonne/teach/dialectology/labov-new-yorker.html

Here you'll find links to several interesting sites related to
dialects of the English language:

http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/spd110td/interper/message/linksspcomlanguage.html

Nautico,

Many thanks for the five stars and the generous tip.

Best wishes for the holidays!

~Pink

"I also wonder whether Shakespeare and his buddies actually said
"hark!" when trying to gain another's attention." 

A little later than the 16th century, but these transcripts from the
Old Bailey Trials show it was in use in the 1700s.
"They got up again; he called her his Dear Mother; she bade him kneel
down, ask her Blessing, and kiss her * * *. He obey'd. But hark ye me,
Son, says she, I understand that you lead a very fine Course of Life:
You make a common Practice of getting drunk,..."
http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/luceneweb/hri3/display_20050804.jsp?mode=bailey&file=html_units%2F1720s%2Ft17250115-13.html&hil=content:(hark)#firsthil

"then I ran after her and begged a young Man to stop her, for she had
robbed me. He call'd after her, Hark ye! Hark ye! - and stopped
her...."
http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/luceneweb/hri3/display_20050804.jsp?mode=bailey&file=html_units%2F1730s%2Ft17380518-3.html&hil=content:(hark)#firsthil

Some more on this link.
http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/luceneweb/bailey/results.jsp?words=hark&format=and&type=&range=&year=

answerfinder-ga

Answerfinder: Thanks for those examples.